As social media has evolved from a place to connect with friends to full-scale entertainment platforms, a startup called Yope is quietly building what it believes will be the future of online connection: social networks without algorithms, without ads, and without public content.

Yope’s app, now backed by a $12.3 million round led by Northzone, takes on tech giants like Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram by building a social platform focused on what it calls “micro-communities,” or small groups where friends and family interact privately, share photos, videos, messages and, soon, play games.

The idea of ​​creating private, algorithm-free social networks isn’t new, but few apps have managed to scale without adding creator content to keep users engaged. Yope hopes to change that by fostering connections between real-world friends, making it both a communication tool and a place to share photos or life updates.

On Yope, accounts are private by default and there is no algorithmic feeding. It is also not supported by advertising, but instead focuses on developing a premium subscription-based experience for power users.

Bahram Ismailau, co-founder and CEO of London-based Yope, says the team saw the potential for a new type of social network after conducting more than 100,000 interviews (with the help of artificial intelligence tools) to better understand how young people around the world used social media. They found that about 30% used what are often called photo dump or “spam” accounts, where users share more candid photos with a smaller group of real-life friends.

Meanwhile, many people don’t share anything publicly and rely on messages to keep up with their friends.

“[Young people] “They have no place to express themselves if they are not prepared to be influencers,” Ismailau said in an interview with TechCrunch. However, teenagers still want to do it; They just want more privacy.

“We found this great opportunity to create a new social space for young people. We call it Yope, and it is an AI-native social platform for young people and the next generation.”

He clarified that the team does not believe in using AI to create content; rather, it sees AI as a tool that can help create better connections. That includes using AI to create mini-games that you can play with your friends, a feature that is expected to launch in about a month. It also aims to leverage AI to help users meet in real life, perhaps buying tickets to an event or finding a restaurant or bar where they can watch a football game.

On Yope, users create their own profiles by sharing photos, which can be turned into cut-out stickers. Instead of being organized into albums, photos are displayed in an almost chaotic, collage-like arrangement on each user’s “wall.” Soon, Yope users will be able to further personalize their space by adding their interests, favorite music and mini-games, as well as personalizing the appearance with colors and wallpapers of their choice.

The idea is reminiscent of Myspace, where users once created their own place on the Web and customized it to reflect their personalities.

The app also borrows heavily from existing social platforms, offering what are now standard features like in-app messaging, highlights highlights (the Yopes are created by AI), and lock screen widgets that display your friends’ photos. During onboarding, the app guides users through setting up its various features and gives them the permissions it needs to access their photos and find their friends, encouraging them to add connections and start private chats.

The combination of features seems to be working: Yope now has almost 15 million registered users, who together have shared between 10 and 20 million pieces of content weekly, including individual photos, videos or stickers. Those metrics suggest regular usage. Ismailau claims that more than 50% of Yope users open the app at least five days a week, essentially making them power users.

And it’s not just about young people adding their friends. Ismailau says around 20% of active users have invited an older family member to join them on the app.

The use attracted investors’ attention, Ismailau says, when Northzone approached the company, rather than the other way around. Northzone, which has backed other consumer apps such as Spotify and Klarna, led the $12.3 million round, with participation from Inovo, Redseed and Geek Ventures. The round brings the company’s total funding to $20 million. (Yope is the result of two previous twists: TechCrunch covered an earlier version of the company. The current version has been in development for about two years.)

“Yope is a new, empowering and safe version of social media where users are in full control of their experience in contrast to the predatory practices of Meta, TikTok or X,” Pär-Jörgen Pärson, partner at Northzone, said in a statement. “We are very excited to partner with Bahram, Paul [Rudkouski, co-founder] and his team to develop the service far beyond the current millions of users and 500 million shared moments.”

The funds will be used to further develop the product, grow the team (which now numbers about 35 people), and establish an office in the United States.

Yope is a free download on iOS and Android.

Correction: Users exchange between 10 and 20 million pieces of content weekly, not daily; the founder was wrong. We have updated the post accordingly.